Plan to cut off the nine states

Xu Xun had been gone for three years. When he left, he was just an eight-year-old child. All he thought about was how to have fun. When he came back, he was already an eleven-year-old boy. He behaved well and spoke elegantly. He didn't show any wildness.

Zhang Shiqing hugged her son and cried bitterly. In the past few years, she had complained about her husband almost every day. The moment she saw her son, all her complaints disappeared.

Feng Ju Niang frowned slightly, turned her head and whispered to her husband: "A young teacher has come back. I don't know if our daughter likes him..."

Tian Jiang smiled but didn't respond.

Xu Xun could only stay for three days when he went home to visit his parents. After meeting everyone and distributing gifts, he went to the study with his parents and talked about his experiences over the years. Xu Chu forbad his son to write back, so many things were heard for the first time.

Zhang Shiqing listened with great interest and felt that every little thing was worth listening to, but Xu Chu did not show much interest. He listened while reading a book and occasionally interjected.

Ma Shi did not come back with him. He was now a trusted guard beside the prince. He had been promoted to an official position in the imperial army and could not take a vacation.

Under Xu Chu's instruction, Ma Shi used his real name in the capital and did not shy away from his identity as the son of King Liang. King Liang died under the persecution of Bao Dun and King Ning. He had no grudge against Da Chu and felt deeply grateful to them. Ma Shi was also a military commander without much ambition, so he was not feared by the emperor.

Although he was called the prince's attendant, he actually had few opportunities to see the prince, especially for young noblemen. Attendant was just a title. Most of the time they were studying and practicing martial arts. Xu Xun was protected by Queen Ma and had a particularly good life. He met the prince many times and praised him in front of his parents.

Zhang Shiqing compared her own childhood life and always felt that her son had a hard life. She kept sighing and looked at her indifferent husband, almost complaining again.

Xu Xun talked about court affairs again, and his logic was quite clear. Xu Chu still showed no interest, but Zhang Shiqing was smiling, as if he had seen the day when his son would be made a marquis and appointed as prime minister.

In the past three years, the biggest thing in the capital was the decline of Guo Shifeng, the Marquis of Changsha, and the Tie family of Yizhou. Before taking action, the emperor showed great trust in the prime minister. Every time he went on a tour or an expedition, he would definitely appoint Guo Shifeng to stay in the capital to assist in the administration, and the queen and the prince would just watch.

The emperor claimed that he would send troops to attack Liangzhou and summoned soldiers from various states to gather in Xijing. The Tie brothers were summoned and arrived. As soon as they entered the military gate, they were captured alive and were accused of secretly colluding with the prime minister and harboring a rebellious heart.

Almost at the same time, Queen Ma and the prince in the capital sent the palace guards to break into the prime minister's residence and capture Guo Shifeng. Ma Shi saw it on the spot and said that when Guo Shifeng saw the soldiers of the East Palace, he threw his pen to the ground and sighed. He did not resist at all, and there was no anger first and then fear and kneeling to beg for mercy as rumored in the streets.

Guo Shifeng and the Tie brothers had been in contact for a long time, and the letters were constant, and there were many complaints in them, especially in the early letters, which talked about the unformed plan to replace the King of Chu.

These letters should have been destroyed. Guo Shifeng’s house did not find a single letter, but the Tie family in Jinducheng found a lot of them. It was also because the emperor acted quickly. While arresting people here, the house was already searched there, and the Tie family had no time to destroy them.

It is said that the Tie brothers wanted to destroy the letters, but the two wives disagreed, thinking that these letters might be used to warn the prime minister one day, but they did not expect that these letters would also be their own "evidence of guilt".

The emperor was magnanimous and took into account the merits of the Guo and Tie families, and the conspiracy involved was all more than ten years ago. Although there were complaints in the recent letters, there was no major fault, so the two families were pardoned from death. Tie Yuan and Tie Ying were demoted to barons, and their families moved to Guangzhou. Guo Shifeng was deprived of his title and became a commoner because of his act of destroying letters.

As for the King of Shu in Yizhou, he immediately wrote a letter to apologize, and even claimed that he was not a descendant of the Gan family and was not qualified to be king.

The emperor rejected all objections and believed that the King of Shu was innocent. As for his origin, there was no evidence. He could still be king, but there were many flatterers in Yizhou, and the King of Shu should not stay there for a long time. He could move to the capital.

Yizhou was pacified, and the whole world was shocked. Yang Mengjun, the King of Liang, sent an envoy to plead guilty, and then went to Xijing in person to hand over the title of king.

The emperor forgave Yang's various crimes and refused to take back the title of King of Liang. However, Yang Mengjun was very persistent and pleaded for more than ten days to make his mind clear. Finally, he handed over the title of king and only retained the post of governor of Liangzhou.

The Yang family also sent a hostage to the capital, who was two years older than Xu Xun.

"Who gave birth to the son of the Yang family? What's his name?" Zhang Shiqing immediately became interested. When she heard that the Tie family was moved to the south, she just sighed and didn't ask too many questions.

Xu Xun didn't understand, and replied: "Of course he was born by the wife of the governor. The court couldn't agree to the illegitimate son being held as a hostage. His name is Yang Mi, the Mi of Amitabha."

Yang Shiqing glanced at her husband, then smiled at her son and said: "You are wrong, that is the Mi of Maitreya. How is he? Are you two friends?"

Xu Xun was even more confused, and shook his head and said: "We are not friends. Yang Mi is proud of his height and often bullies his colleagues."

Hearing his son say the word "colleague" at such a young age, Yang Shiqing laughed again, "The son of the Yang family must be tall, but you don't have to be afraid of him. If Yang Mi bullies others again, you can say..."

Xu Chu turned his head and thought his wife was going to give a bad idea, but Zhang Shiqing said: "Just say that Ma Shi is your brother, and Yang Mi is not taller than Ma Shi, right?"

Xu Xun said seriously: "Yang Mi has never bullied me. Even if he has, I can deal with it myself, without my brother stepping in."

"This is my son." Zhang Shiqing praised.

After talking for a long time, Zhang Shiqing let his son go, "You are tired from the journey, take a good rest, we will talk again tomorrow."

Xu Xun left the study and walked towards his bedroom. Suddenly, he saw a girl of the same age walking towards him. He immediately stopped and bowed.

Feng Ju Niang's daughter Tian Shu is also eleven years old. She grows faster and is a little taller than Xu Xun. Facing her former playmate, she pretended not to see him and walked past him without even saying hello.

Xu Xun was lost and stood there without saying a word.

After walking more than ten steps, Tian Shu suddenly stopped and turned around, asking, "Did you bring me a gift?"

Xu Xun nodded immediately and walked closer quickly, "One is for Aunt Feng, and the other one..." Xu Xun took out a small bag from his arms and gently opened it, "This is the clay figurine from Beijing that you asked for three years ago."

The clay figurine is in the shape of a girl, colorful and cute. Tian Shu took it in his hand and smiled.

In the study, Zhang Shiqing sighed, "One is back, and the other is far away in Yuyang. I don't know when the two brothers can reunite."

"There will be many opportunities in the future." Xu Chu said. A year ago, he sent his youngest son Xu Chi to Yuyang to serve as a servant to Yuyang King Shi Nu, and he was also not allowed to write letters home.

"Why are you not happy that your son is back?"

Xu Chu put down the book, "I am happy, but I can't show it."

"Humph, do you have to do this to your own son?"

Three days later, Xu Xun had to set off to return to Beijing. The mother and son were reluctant to part. Xu Chu personally saw him off and sent him all the way to Yecheng before saying goodbye. He gave a few instructions and nothing else.

Xu Chu rarely went to the city. This time he came to see him off and to see Yecheng King Tan Wuwei. He had already received an invitation and had been finding excuses not to come.

Three years ago, Tan Wuwei followed Xu Chu's advice and first asked to attack Liaodong. After the defeat, he went to Beijing to apologize and offered to redeem his sins with the title of king. However, he was not allowed to do so. So he asked to reduce half of his fiefdom and remove the title of "Prince Prince" from his eldest son, thinking that his son had no merit and could not be called king.

As Xu Chu expected, after this move, the emperor was less wary of the King of Yecheng. However, after the King of Shu moved to Beijing and the King of Liang was exempted from the title, Tan Wuwei became a little afraid again.

As soon as he saw Xu Chu, Tan Wuwei said excitedly: "The court has taken action, the court has taken action..."

"Did my second brother have correspondence with Prime Minister Guo?"

"No, how could I... He is the prime minister, I am a local lord, and we always have official correspondence." Tan Wuwei changed his words in the middle, "What should I do? Should I learn from the King of Liang and give up the title of king? Now there is only one king of a different surname..."

"The King of Liang has disobeyed the imperial edict several times and has resigned as a king for his crimes. What crime has my second brother committed that he should give up the title of king?"

"I don't want to give it up either, but..."

"And there is another king of a different surname, the King of Shu."

"The King of Shu moved to the capital, which is no different from a puppet."

"If my second brother wants to learn, he might as well learn from the King of Shu."

Tan Wuwei was stunned for a while and asked, "Does my fourth brother have any other ideas?"

Xu Chu shook his head.

"Let me think about it. If it doesn't work, I have to use this trick."

Xu Chu said goodbye and returned to the valley and said to Zhang Shiqing: "I'm afraid that the King of Yecheng will not last long."

Zhang Shiqing was surprised, "We in the Valley of Repentance are protected by the King of Yecheng. Can't you give him an idea?"

"The King of Yecheng became the king because of his military merits. He is arrogant and unwilling to go to the capital to endure the humiliation for a while. It's okay when the emperor is here. Once the emperor doesn't intervene, the King of Yecheng must be eliminated first."

"In this case, it is the luck of the King of Yecheng to die before the emperor?"

Tan Wuwei's "luck" was not so good. He really didn't go to the capital, but wrote a letter again, hoping to give up the title of king. After being blamed by the emperor in the edict, he never mentioned this matter again.

Two years later, the emperor fell ill. In order to bring good luck, he sent a princess to Yecheng to marry one of Tan Wuwei's sons. This was a marriage that had been decided long ago, but it was delayed until today because the two were young.

The wedding procession was extremely large, with many nobles. Tan Wuwei led his son and ministers out of the city to welcome them, but was captured by the accompanying imperial guards and sent directly to the capital, where the wedding proceeded as usual.

There were many different opinions about Tan Wuwei's experience in the capital. Two years later, when Xu Xun returned home for the second time to visit his relatives, he brought some reliable news.

When Tan Wuwei came to the capital, the court announced that the King of Yecheng heard that the emperor was seriously ill and volunteered to serve. In the capital, Tan Wuwei lived in the palace that had been arranged long ago and entered the palace several times. Outsiders did not know what the emperor and his ministers said.

The emperor was indeed seriously ill, and he died after five months. On the night when the news came out, the King of Yecheng committed suicide and left a will, claiming that he wanted to follow His Majesty.

The prince ascended the throne and appreciated Tan Wuwei's loyalty, so he allowed his eldest son to succeed the King of Yecheng, and the king would be demoted to a marquis after three generations.

Xu Xun was fifteen years old this year. He had been given an official position because he had accompanied the prince in the East Palace since he was a child. He went home this time to visit his parents and to formally get engaged to Tian Shu, and agreed to get married the following year.

Xu Xun also brought a reminder to his father: "The new emperor is very filial and obeys the empress dowager in everything. The empress dowager has been jealous of Concubine Zhang and Prince Yuyang for a long time. My second brother is in Yuyang, and I hope father will pay more attention to him."

Xu Chu said: "What did I tell you when you first went to the capital?"

"Don't mind your own business."

"Well, my instructions have not changed now."

The autumn of the following year was the day of the wedding. Xu Xun was busy with his duties and could not take leave to return home. Zhang Shiqing, Tian Jiang, Feng Ju Niang and his wife sent Tian Shu to Beijing. This was also the first time they left the Valley of Repentance in many years.

More than half of the people in the valley followed him to Beijing, and only Xu Chu stayed behind to take a few children to continue studying, and he didn't even write a letter.

Over the years, the population in the valley has increased year by year, and it has reached nearly a hundred people. Suddenly, most of them left, and it immediately became much quieter.

Xu Chu's lifestyle remained unchanged. Apart from teaching the children how to write and read, he would go to clean the graves of Fan Bi and the old servant every two or three days.

A month later, someone sent a letter from the capital. The Empress Dowager Bintian and Jiuzhou mourned together. Marriage was prohibited within one year. Xu Xun and Tian Shu's marriage had to be postponed. Zhang Shiqing and others did not want to travel back and forth, so they had to live in the capital. Previous year.

Xu Chu asked this person to bring a message, saying "I understand" and nothing else.

In the early summer of the next year, two unexpected guests came to Siguo Valley.

One is Liu Youzhong. After so many years, he has not become older. Xu Chu can't help but suspect that he really has some immortality.

Liu Youzhong abandoned the King of Jin and went south, following King Ning for a while, but felt that it was not a long-term solution, so he left quietly and lived in seclusion in the mountains of Jiangnan. After the world was peaceful, he came out again, still making a career as a fortune teller, and his reputation was even louder than before. He traveled among princes and nobles, and even took on an apprentice.

The apprentice's surname was Zhou and his given name was Fushi. He claimed to be an old friend of Xu Chu's. Xu Chu recognized him for a while before suddenly remembering that this person was indeed an old friend and blurted out: "Black-haired dog!"

Zhou Fushi was Zhou Lv, his classmate in the Yuxue Academy. He survived the troubled times, but could not become an official. He studied physiognomy with Liu Youzhong and became quite successful. He said with a smile: "I was a bitch back then, but Mr. I remember, I also remember Mr. Xu's article, "Utilize the people to take advantage of the time." From what I have seen and heard over the years, these four words seem more and more simple and profound."

Xu Chu was overjoyed to see his old friend. He made an exception for drinking and drank until he was drunk. He chatted with Liu Youzhong and Zhou Fushi, but did not talk about current affairs. Every time those two people mentioned it, Xu Chu only listened but did not talk. He was really disturbed. When asked, he said that he had not heard about world affairs for a long time and could not judge.

The master and apprentice lived in the valley for three days, then said goodbye and left. Xu Chu was sent outside the valley, knowing in his heart that he had passed the test of the new emperor.

In early autumn, Xu Chi, the second son, rushed back from Yuyang. He was recruited to Beijing as an official, so he could visit relatives and attend his brother's wedding.

Xu Chi brought a special gift to his father, which were two books, one "Book of Songs" and one "Shang Shu". The books were very ordinary, but their origins were unusual.

"Back then, the late emperor and the king of Yecheng had successively conquered Liaodong. Tiancheng also knew it. He removed the title of emperor, changed the country's name to Liaocheng, professed vassalage to Dachu, and paid tribute every three years. The envoys had to pass through Yuyang every time. Last year's envoys When I passed by, I brought these two books and said they were gifts from my father's old friend. I felt it was inappropriate that the messenger did not mention the old friend's name, so I brought them this year."

Xu Chu took the two books, flipped through them for a while, and said with a smile: "It is indeed a gift from an old friend. She wanted to tell me that even though she lives in a deserted place, she has never forgotten her poems and books."

"This old friend of my father has the integrity of a scholar." Xu Chi didn't know what he meant, and added: "I heard in Yuyang that the Queen Mother's death was quite strange, and there were even rumors that arrangements had been made before the late emperor died. King Yuyang was quite uneasy and worried about Concubine Zhang’s safety, so he asked me to conduct a detailed investigation after arriving in Beijing. My father thought..."

"Use the people with time." Xu Chu replied.

"Huh?" Xu Chi understood the meaning of these four words, but didn't understand how it related to what he said.

"When you enter the capital as an official, you must be asked about the emperor's advice. You should not ask too much about 'employing the people in accordance with the times' and other matters, let alone say too much."

"Yes, father." Xu Chi didn't dare to ask any more questions.

Xu Chu picked up the book sent by his old friend and felt as calm as water.

He knew that his two sons would inevitably be involved in many disputes when they entered Beijing, but he was not worried.

He knew that his wife would be back before winter and Siguo Valley would be lively again.

He knew that Princess Huanyan had settled down and he didn't need to worry anymore.

Things come to an end and begin again, but each end and beginning are different. He knows that his strategy will no longer be used.

(The book is finished, and there will be a postscript tomorrow, which will be posted on Weibo. The full name is "Binglin God's Weibo". Please pay attention.)